


v.s.c.

by orphan_account



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Catholic School, F/M, M/M, Vampire Gerard Way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:49:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23035024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "so, how did you get in here?"his body was close to mine, so close i should have felt the heat that should have radiated from it. but i didn't. there was no heat. his body was as cold as stone."i broke a window."
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Frank Iero/Jamia Nestor
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i love this fic so so so much it is very dear to me as it is my first frerard fic in forfuckingever and i think it’s gonna be pretty sick! :)

"so, how did you get in here?"

his body was close to mine, so close i should have felt the heat that should have radiated from it. but i didn't. there was no heat. his body was as cold as stone.

"i broke a window."

he chuckled, a low laugh that came from behind his ribs and vibrated at the base of my skull. he stepped closer, he was so close to me our bodies were practically touching. my heart was beating out of my chest. his wasn't beating at all. he leaned in so i could feel his frosty breath against my forehead, i could feel the movement of his lips brush lightly against my skin.

"bullshit."

my heart rate seemed to match his in that second. my breath grew quicker and shallower as he looked at me, a wild and almost hungry look in his cold eyes. he reached his porcelain hand up to graze against my cheek, his thumb resting on the bone. my cheeks began to heat, blood flooding my face as he chuckled again, this time sounding even hungrier. 

"please, believe me," i whimpered, shaking like a branch in the wind. 

he was silent for a second, his thin lips pursed in thought. his eyes studied my face, his cold, cold hand never leaving its place. how i wished he would remove it. 

"what's your name?"

"frank?"

"you're gonna have to pay for the window you broke, frank."

i shook my head, my eyes glued to the floor. i felt like if i looked at him, i would die. "i can't."

his hand traced down the side of my face, gripping my chin and forcing me to look at his unbelievably pale face. he had a frown stretched across his cracked lips. "why not?"

"i'm just a kid. i don't have money or time for a job."

"you too busy smoking weed and breaking into houses?"

i stayed silent for a second. "yes? i-i have school too."

he laughed again, his tough and terrifying façade breaking a bit. "i didn't mean money anyway."

his hand traveled from my chin down the side of my sweat soaked neck, his fingers feeling every inch of the soft skin they could reach. his hand traveled to my shoulder and rested there, gripping it ever so slightly. he lowered his lips to my ear, his frigid breath sending chills down my spine. 

"do you have any idea what i am?" he asked, his voice loud and clear in my ear. i could feel every vibration with every word that he spoke, not that the words made much sense to me in that moment. 

"a... a human?"

he threw his head back in laughter, stepping away from me for a bit. for the first time in minutes, i felt like i could breathe. my heart seemed to start again, but it was only temporary. his fingers tightened on my shoulder, sending a dull ache into my muscles. 

"no, frank, i'm not. i'm far beyond that. you should fear me, you know," his voice was a low purr as he brought his other hand up to grip my hair. he leaned in close again. "i could kill you right here, right now and it would only take a second."

well, that's a bit harsh for breaking a window. 

i raised my hands to his chest in an attempt to push him away, which only earned me another head toss and loud, cold laugh. his chest was still, the only feeling in it the rise and fall of his lungs. no heartbeat. just the rhythmic flooding of his lungs. i pushed again, writing a bit under his tightening grasp. 

"you're only making this harder for yourself."

"all i did was break a fucking window, man! i can get you the money but i don't know what the fuck you want from me!" i shouted, my eyes wide with panic. i wasn't sure who this pale man was or why it seemed like he was going to kill me, but i knew i had to get the fuck out of there. 

his grip tightened even more. my scalp burned and i was sure his fingers would leave bruises along my shoulder. i squeaked out in pained. 

"i told you, i don't want money," he murmured, looking at me hungrily. 

i squirmed some more, fear taking complete control over me, causing my lungs to fail to function correctly. i pushed at him as hard as i could, but there was no give. tears began falling from my face, burning my cheeks as panic began to set in. all the while, he smiled. he fucking smiled. 

and that's when i saw it. 

among his impressively white teeth were two long fangs that hung lower than the rest of his teeth and came to a sharp point at the end. a point, might i add, that was definitely sharp enough to pierce through skin. 

suddenly, it all clicked in my head. and that's when i realized that he wasn't going to use my body like a sex toy or take away my life just because i broke a window. 

he was going to eat me. 

i shook my head, sweat dripping from my forehead. "i'm too young to die."

"how old are you?"

"seventeen."

he shrugged. "i've had younger."

he jerked my head to the side, my scalp screaming out in pain as he made my neck more accessible. after a moment, i felt his cold, cold lips against the skin and i felt him breathe in. he growled lowly, his lips parting slightly, his breath as cold as ice on my neck. 

my head spun. thoughts on how the hell i would get out of this situation and memories of the life i was about to lose swirled in my brain as more tears streamed down my face. my knees buckled, but he held me up. i felt like my hair was about to fall out. my head pounded as his teeth grazed my skin. i was about to die. 

and then an idea came. 

"wait! please, wait," i cried, causing his head to lift up gently. he looked at me, confused, as i stood up again and cleared my throat. "what... what's your name?"

"gerard?" he replied, uncertain of my intentions. i was pretty uncertain as well. he shook his head and brought it back down to my neck. "you're just wasting time."

"wait, gerard, i want to make a deal!" the words spilled from my mouth as i felt the sharpness of his teeth again. he looked up again. "i want to help you."

"with?"

"getting food."

i wasn't sure what i was promising, but if it could save my ass, then it was worth it. he let go of my aching shoulder and of my sweat soaked hair, wiping the now wet hand against his pant leg. i placed a hand on my chest to make sure i was still alive. 

gerard was looking at me expectantly. i shook myself out and cleared my throat. 

"i want to help you get food."

"what exactly do you mean, frank?"

i fiddled with my hands, my eyes glued on his shoes. "i can help lure people here. there's a few people i hate enough to do that too. and maybe i can fulfill special requests." i looked up at him shyly, anxiety making my skin crawl. "i... i don't wanna die. i don't wanna die for some fucking window."

"that broken window could kill me."

"that broken window could kill me."

he laughed, shaking his head. his long, black hair fell across his face as he did so. he readjusted himself and looked at me, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "okay. you have yourself a deal."

and with that, i collapsed, my knees buckling underneath me, my body crashing to the floor. a wave of pain and relief washed over my body as gerard grinned, crossing his arms and turning away from me. 

"you start this week," he said with a toss of his hand before disappearing into another room. 

i laid on his floor, thinking about what the hell i had just gotten myself into. i had essentially become a hitman. i was going to be the reason innocent people lost their lives. honestly? if it could save my sorry ass, i was okay with that. 

i already knew who my first victim would be.


	2. missing persons report

matt pelissier, age seventeen, officially went missing last night. police still haven't been able to find him. 

"he's probably on some huge drug bender."

"that's just how you think, jimmy. he was a decent kid," ray laughed, shaking his head at jimmy's words. his curly hair bounced at the movement. "i can admit he was bit of an ass, but still decent."

"you say 'was' like he's dead," lindsey commented, making my grip on the edge of the table tighten.

ray shrugged. "you never know. kids don't usually just go missing."

i knew. i knew he was dead. he was fucking dead and it was all my fault. my stomach felt like it was twisted into tight knots and my head felt thick with guilt and sadness and just generally awful thoughts. i wanted to cry right then and there, but i held it together by a single thin thread known as my own survival. 

it happened three days ago. i approached him in the hallway before my last two classes had even started, stopping and leaning up against the locker next to his. he had looked at me weirdly, confused as to why i was there. we weren't exactly friends. in fact, we kind of hated each other. and yet, here i was, leaned up against the locker next to him. 

"the hell do you want, iero?" he spoke first, his voice filled with venom as he spat out the words. 

"i don't wanna hate each other anymore," i shrugged, looking toward him. 

"what?"

"you heard me."

matt slammed his locker closed, facing me now. he had his books clutched to his chest and an uneasy look on his face. "what changed your mind then?"

"dunno," i shrugged again, this time with a small grin on my lips. matt shook his head and laughed breathily, still confused. his arms seemed to lower a bit, his stance slowly becoming less defensive. "hey, meet me at the woods at four, i found an abandoned house where we can get fucked up together."

"the woods? sounds like you're gonna kill me," he laughed. i laughed along too, but inside i began to break into a nervous sweat. "alright, man, which woods?"

"windermere."

"okay then. see you, i guess."

that went a lot quicker than i expected. truth was, i still hated matt. but i wasn't sure if i hated him enough to let him wander into the death trap known as gerard. i shrugged off the thought, grinning at him as i walked away into the sea of people flooding the hallway. 

two more periods of school left and approximately eighty minutes of not listening to the teacher and letting the guilt inside me slowly take over until i can leave this prison and let myself feel guilty for another hour until i had to kill matt. 

thoughts ran through my head as the teacher droned on and on like a mosquito buzzing by my ear. the words were unintelligible unlike my thoughts which were loud and clear. what the fuck was i about to do? i propped my head up by my forehead, my gaze fixated on the table below me. 

"hey, frankie? you okay?" ray asked, twisting his torso to face me. i hadn't even noticed that the teacher had stopped talking. 

i only nodded, fearing what my voice might sound like if i actually spoke up. ray looked unconvinced, his eyebrow cocked questioningly. "i'm just a bit stressed," i murmured, keeping my voice low to hide the shakiness. 

"about?"

"i'm a bit lost in math," i shrugged, the lie slipping off my tongue as easy as the truth would. ray seemed to buy it. he nodded slightly before turning his gaze back to the work sheet that had apparently been passed out. i hadn't even noticed. my head was too full with worry to notice the room around me. 

i shook my head in an attempt to clear out my thoughts and focus on the worksheet. every single word was jumbled and matt's face flashed into my head every few moments just to torment me. i groaned in frustration, earning another concerned glance from ray. i waved him off. 

my head began to wander again, but this time not necessarily to matt. how the hell was i going to pull this off? i was certain my mom would be suspicious of me leaving at four and coming home two hours later. i only ever left the house at that time on a school night if i was staying over at ray's house. 

an idea popped into my head. 

"hey, ray?" i asked, causing him to lift his gaze from his mostly completed worksheet. 

"yeah, man?" he asked, setting his pencil down on the desk to give me his full attention. fuck, he must have been really worried about the way i was acting. 

"can i stay at your house tonight?"

he thought for a second. "uh, i have to go to dinner with my dad then to my brother's soccer game. i might not be home 'till 'round eight."

i shook my head a bit. "that's fine, man, i've got some homework i've got to do anyway. i can just come over at eight."

"okay..." ray said, a trace of suspicion in his tone. "are you sure you're alright?"

"yeah, thanks."

ray opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the shrieking of the bell. i bolted outside of the room as fast as i could in an attempt to avoid any more conversation with ray. i was out of lies for now. luckily, he wasn't in my next period. i took my seat next to jamia. 

"frankie!" she grinned as soon as she noticed me. her smile was always warm and infectious. i smiled back. 

"hey, baby," i said quietly, winking at her. she giggled cutely, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

she quieted down as the teacher spoke, but my eyes still watched jamia, hoping she would bring me even the slightest bit of peace. it didn't work. instead, my mind drifted to the what if's. what if she found out? what would she think of me? she'd probably hate me. everyone would. god, what was i doing? 

i ran a hand through my hair in an attempt to calm myself down. after all, it was my life or his. and i certainly loved myself too much to die. but i still felt horrible about it. 

"frankie, baby, are you okay?" jamia asked, her voice as sweet as honey. 

i groaned, slumping down so my forehead was pressed against the cold surface of the table. "why does everyone keep asking that? it's driving me crazy."

"well, i can think of a couple of reasons. do you wanna talk to me 'bout it?" she pushed, her voice still as gentle as it was before. i shook my head. "okay, i'm always here to talk, you know."

"thanks, jams," i muttered into the desk. she reached over and rubbed my shoulder soothingly, causing a fraction of a smile to spread across my lips. 

i returned to my anxious thoughts and, soon enough, the bell rang again, signally the end of the day. every single second the moment was creeping even closer. i wasn't ready. i knew matt probably wasn't ready either. 

i approached my locker, the sound of the twisting lock distracting me for a second as i focused on getting the code right. the slamming and scraping of metal and chattering voices filled the hallway as people filed out of the school. i was slower today, my pace matching that of a snail. dread held me back from going any faster. 

i felt like i was gonna pass out. 

"frank," a feminine voice next to me snapped me from my thoughts. i turned my head to look at lindsey, who stood next to me with her arms crossed across her chest. she groaned exaggeratedly. "jesus christ, you're a fucking snail today."

"sorry," i mumbled, slamming my locker closed and slinging my backpack over my shoulder. 

i followed the taller girl out of the school. consistently, she glanced back at me, her face riddled with concern. i curled my fingers into a fist, frustrated. 

we were halfway through our walk home when she finally spoke. 

"you know, ray's pretty worried 'bout you," she said, almost nonchalantly. 

"why? why'd he even tell you?"

"we've got last period together, hon. and you've been acting strange all day." she stopped, turning her gaze to me. "is everything okay?"

anger bubbled in my chest. i groaned loudly, tightening my fists. "why does everyone have to fucking ask if i'm okay?" i growled, and before i even knew it, my fist flew at the tree next to me, the rough bark scraping at my knuckles, breaking the skin. they were an angry red now as i brought them up to grip my hair tightly. lindsey looked almost afraid, but i didn't care. "i'm not fucking okay right now, and you know what? it's my fucking problem! stop asking me, i'm so fucking sick of it!"

and with that, i began to cry. tears flowed down my cheeks as i covered my mouth with my hands, the other resting across my chest, feeling my heart bead at a rapid speed. lindsey stepped closer to me, pulling me into a gentle hug. i wrapped my arms around her shoulders and let out a soft sob. 

"i'm just stressed out right now, i'm sorry," i murmured into her shoulder. 

she shushed me. "no, frank, no need to apologize. it's okay, i understand." she rubbed circles into my shoulder and i was certain i was getting her uniform wet with my tears. "do you wanna come to my house until you gotta go to ray's? we can watch a movie or somethin'."

i thought for a minute. it sounded really good in that moment. but i knew what i had to do. so, i shook my head and pulled away from lindsey, wiping the tears from my face. she placed her hands on my flushed cheeks and gave me a sad smile.

we continued our walk in silence, the only sounds around us being the tapping of our feet against the cement, the rustle of wind through the trees, and my occasional sniffling. lindsey kept shooting glances at me, but i mostly ignored them. inwardly, i was worried about looking like i'd been crying in front of my mom. 

soon, our neighboring homes came into view, lindsey's dark blue house in contrast to my little white one. she reached over and squeezed my hand, telling me a quick goodbye before disappearing through her red front door. i sighed as soon as she left. if only she knew. 

the creak of the front door alerted my mother, who had been in the kitchen. she appeared in the hallway with a bright smile as i kicked off my shoes and loosened my tie. 

"paco! how was your day?" she sounded overly excited, then again, she always did. 

"it was good," i said as she kissed my cheek, one of my hands still gripping the strap of my backpack. "do you think i could stay at ray's tonight?"

"of course, sweetie, what time?"

"'round four." the two simple words felt like a ball of lead in my stomach. she nodded in reply, the bright smile still plastered on her face. i leaned in and kissed her cheek. "thank you, mamma."

as i climbed up the loud, wooden stairs, my mother called out: "don't forget to do your homework before you go!"

"'kay, mamma!" i called back as i flung my backpack onto the floor of my room. i wasn't planning on doing my homework, i don't think i could've if i tried. my head was too filled with worry to focus on anything. instead, i flopped down onto my bed and covered my eyes with my arm, hoping to block out the world for a bit. 

miraculously, i ended up drifting to sleep. it was already getting slightly dark out when i woke up. 

i rubbed my eyes, feeling around next to me for my phone. the bright blue light made my eyes squint up as i viewed the time. 3:48. fuck. 

i sat up so quickly my vision blurred. i needed to leave right that second. in a panic, i sprinted to my dresser, pulling out a random shirt and pair of pajama pants and shoving them into my backpack. i slung it over my shoulders sloppily. i ran down the stairs quickly, shoving on my school shoes at the door. 

"bye, mamma! i love you!" i called out. 

"i love you too, paco! have fun!" she responded from another room. 

i flew to my car, throwing my backpack into the backseat before starting the engine. the radio played vacant songs as i drove down the empty backroads. it felt all to casual for me dragging someone to his death. i could feel my hands sweat against the steering wheel, the leather sticking onto my palms.

i was suddenly surrounded by a blue of greens and browns as i drove through a city of large trees. my heart dropped as i realized where i was. windermere, a.k.a. matt pelissier's place of death. 

i pulled over on the side of the deserted road, pulling out my phone to check the time. 3:58. this was it. i was really about to kill one of my schoolmates. i took in deep breaths, filling my lungs to the brim with stale car in an attempt to calm myself down. it felt like i was going to explode. i peeled my hands from the wheel and wiped them on my pant leg, fidgeting with my fingers until i heard a knock at my window. i looked up. 

matt was smiling.

the optimistic son of a bitch was smiling. 

it felt as though i'd been punched in the gut. hard.

i got out of my car, a fake smile plastered over my lips. i led matt into the woods in the direction of gerard's house. fallen twigs and dead leaves crunched under our feet as we made our way through the large, old trees. we pushed away leafy branches that clawed at our faces, climbing over fallen logs that were blanketed with moss and lichen. it was a peaceful atmosphere for something not so peaceful. 

"so," matt said, breaking the silence between us. "why'd you really decide to invite me to do this?"

"hating each other sucks. and i'm realizing–" i sucked in a deep breath– "i'm realizing that it's not your fault. and i'm sorry." it took all of my power not to cry. 

the realization hit me like a bus. i was killing him for no reason. i squeezed my uninjured hand into a tight fist, tight enough to allow my dull nails to dig into the soft flesh of my palms and to turn my knuckles white. guilt pushed down on my shoulders, attempting to break my back. 

"is that the house?" matt asked. i looked up. shit. it was.

i nodded in silent reply as we approached the rotting front door. as i pushed the door open, it moaned loudly and i realized something. 

i really didn't need to break the window, huh?

"for an abandoned house, it's pretty put together in here," matt noted as soon as we stepped inside. apart from a few oddly placed pieces of furniture, the dim lighting, and a shit ton of spider webs, he was right. it looked like any other house. 

"yeah," i chuckled nervously. "not many people have discovered this place i guess."

"oh, no. they have," a voice cooed from the other room. i held my breath as the old wooden floor creaked under gerard's footsteps as he stalked into the room like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey. he had a sick grin on his face, his fangs glinting in the dark light. "they just didn't live long enough to mess it up."

fear displayed itself on matt's face as he turned to run to the door. i threw my small body in front of it, pain flaring up in my back as it slammed into the wooden surface. matt looked bewildered, like a frightened wild animal in captivity. tears began to spill from my eyes as gerard let out one of his signature cold laughs. 

"don't be so scared. it'll be over soon," gerard purred as he stepped between the two of us, his hand trailing along matt's neck. he turned to me and smiled, cupping my face with his icy cold hands. "thank you, frankie, this one looks delicious."

"f-frank? you planned this out?" matt stammered. i looked to him, my eyes blurring his figure, but from what i could see, he was as pale as a ghost. "i thought you changed, man."

"matt, i'm so sorry," i whispered back. 

"oh, human emotion," gerard laughed, removing his hands from my face and gripping at matt's shoulders. "it's a silly thing, isn't it? you get so attached to people you don't even like. guess what? you all fucking die in the end! why not expedite it? besides, matt, my dear, you're feeding the hungry."

gerard pushed matt's face to the side with one hand and brought his lips to his neck. i saw matt the misery on matt's face as he reached his end and it was too much for me. i crumpled up into a ball on the ground, squeezing my eyes shut and clapping my hands over my ears. still, i could hear everything. 

i heard gerard's venomous his before he dug his teeth into matt's neck, causing matt to cry out in pain. his cries rang throughout the room, haunting my mind until he fell silent. i heard something fall to the floor and be dragged away, but i was too afraid to open my eyes.

my body heaved as i sobbed loudly, mostly in an attempt to block out the sounds of the old house around me. my chest ached and my lungs burned as tears poured down my face and dropped onto the floor, which now groaned as gerard walked towards me and slid down to sit next to me. 

i felt a pair of arms pull me up to sitting position and i crashed my head into his shoulder, sobbing for what seemed like an eternity as what i had just done truly set in. 

i killed a man. not even a man, but a child. 

my sobs finally quieted down and i came back to reality as i felt a cold hand rub my back comfortingly. i looked up to see gerard in all his pale glory. 

"it's okay," he murmured, pulling me into his chest and running a hand through my hair. "you did what had to be done."

"why are you being so... human now?" i asked, my words being broken up by shaky breaths and quiet sobs. 

"i was human once too, you know," he shrugged. i pulled away from him and wiped my tear stained face with my hand that was now coated in dry blood. gerard seemed to notice. he reached out and took my hand in his, studying my scraped up knuckles. "what happened here?"

"murder isn't exactly good for the mind," i murmured. 

he nodded and set my hand down. after a moment of silence he spoke. 

"so, why'd you decide on him?"

"my girlfriend– well, my ex girlfriend– cheated on me with him. i couldn't bring myself to think it wasn't his fault until we were in the woods earlier. fuck, i feel so fucking horrible, gerard. he didn't deserve to die. he really didn't."

gerard pulled me into his chest again, shushing me. my body shook with sobs again as i cried into the crook of his neck. he rubbed my back and let me cry. for a monster that was trying to kill me earlier that week, he was oddly comforting. i gripped at his t-shirt and cried it all out. 

i must've been there for an hour or so, because all my tears ran out and my head pounded like a motherfucker. i pulled away from him, gazing at the wet spot on the collar of his shirt. i slowly looked at his pale face. his stringy black hair hung in strands around his face, some of it sticking to his slightly tinted lips. he flashed a smile at me, his fangs clearly stained with red. my stomach churned. 

"i know how you feel, you know," he said, moving his hand from my hair to cup my face and wipe away some of the tears. his cold hand made me shiver. "when i first became... this, i didn't know what to do. i was so scared. and hungry. so you know what i did? i killed my brother. and i felt so shitty for a whole fucking century."

i placed a hand on his hand. "yeah?"

he nodded and stood up, bringing me with him. i let him go and followed him silently as he crept through the dusty hallways. cobwebs and lichen coated the walls as well as old oil paintings and vintage pictures. the wallpaper was peeling in places, the patterns that were once bold now faded overtime.

he brought me into a room where a fire raged on in an old brick fireplace, several dust coated vases and trinkets adorning the mantle above it. above it, was another oil painting, this time larger and of a boy around my age who looked somewhat like gerard. it clicked. it must've been his brother. 

the boy had thin glasses and brown hair and an expressionless face. he looked regal, like he belonged in an oil painting. gerard looked at it longingly, guilt riddling his face. 

"his name was michael. i stole this painting after i killed him. it's the most important thing to me," gerard said, his gaze never leaving his brother's painted face.

"so, why're you're showing me this?" i asked. 

"because i don't want you to be afraid."

i took a step closer to gerard, his gaze finally breaking from the picture and looking to me. "so," i said hopefully, "does this mean i don't have to bring you anyone else?"

he laughed, a warmer laugh this time. "no, i still need to eat. if it helps, it'll only be once a month."

"what happens if i don't bring you anyone?"

"i'll find you. and you'll die."

"fun."

"isn't it?"

i laughed. gerard had a smirk stretched upon his pale pink lips. his face was painted a shade of orange from the fire, his hazel eyes twinkling as the fire danced and crackled. his eyes crinkled up at the corners when he smiled. 

"it's getting late," he murmured. i checked my phone, the blue light contrasting harshly against the orange light that filled the room. it was 7:03 and i had a long hike ahead of me. i was practically already late to ray's house. 

"shit, you're right."

he led me to the door, his hand resting on my shoulder comfortingly. he cleared his throat as he opened the noisy door. "thank you for doing that. i know it's a lot."

"yeah, whatever, as long as you don't kill me."

as soon as i left the house, i was bombarded by thoughts of matt. the guilt of what i'd just done began to weigh down on me again, crushing my shoulders and splitting my back in two. i couldn't admire the dark woods around me. i couldn't focus on the almost eerie silence after the birds finished singing and the rest of the animals slept quietly, hidden away from the world. instead, i focused on my flashlight on the ground and the thoughts that rushed through my head like a herd of frightened caribou. 

i had blood on his hands now and i was certainly going to add to that collection. i had to. 

as i left the shadowy woods, i heard the loud chorus of baying coyotes arise from the leaves, echoing into the night sky. i quickly got into my car, turning the radio up to full volume so i didn't have to hear my thoughts or the coyotes anymore. 

the rest of the drive to ray's house was noisy, filled with the blaring music and my blaring thoughts. the roads were flooded with plenty of cars, causing me to grow frustrated. i didn't have any patience left. i barely had any sanity left. 

i knocked on ray's front door, backpack sling over my shoulder. he opened the door, looking muddled as he saw me standing there, the rims of my eyes red and puffy from tears, mud sticking to my shoes and shorts, twigs stuck in my hair. 

"frank? i didn't think you'd come tonight. it's already 8:30, you're never late to shit like this," ray shook his head in confusion. "are you okay? you're shaking like a leaf, man."

"no. i'm hungry, i'm tired, i have a huge ass headache, and i don't wanna talk about it."

i pushed into his house without another word. i felt as if i was floating, my head spun more the longer i stud up and my legs felt like jelly. as i sat in the dim kitchen, another thought popped into my head. one that i hadn't thought of yet. 

i was the last person seen with matt. 

what the fuck were the police gonna do?


End file.
